Harry ‘Tomi Davies (TD) is the Collaborator-in-Chief at TVC Labs in Lagos, Nigeria, and the founding President of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN). He also serves on the board of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN). TD is an advocate for technology-driven innovation in Africa, believing it creates both economic value and social impact. He has worked with global brands and led technology initiatives across multiple continents before focusing on Africa in 2000.

TD is involved with various organizations, including Powerstove, MBO Capital, Big Cabal Media, and Laptops4Learning Nigeria. He chairs the Innovation Committee of the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC). As an angel investor, he aims to support African founders using technology to drive innovation, as detailed in his book “Investment Worthy Startup.”

Iyinoluwa “E” Aboyeji, OON is currently the Founding Partner of Future Africa, Africa’s largest seed stage investor which has invested millions of dollars into over a hundred startups across Africa. 

Before that, he co-founded two of Africa’s seven unicorns; Andela and Flutterwave. Iyinoluwa has served his country as the youngest member of Nigeria’s Presidential Council on Industrial Policy and Competitiveness and has been recognized as one of the youngest

recipients of a national award as the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). He has been

recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a Forbes 30 under 30

honoree amongst other awards and fellowships.

Anu Adedoyin Adasolum is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sabi. In her role, she provides day-to-day leadership and management, driving the company’s growth strategies and refining its processes to accelerate commerce across Nigeria and Africa. Anu is instrumental in empowering the operational team to meet business goals and projections, playing a crucial role in connecting stakeholders in the informal sector with valuable opportunities.

Anu has a diverse background with extensive experience across several industries, including renewable energy, manufacturing, private equity, real estate, and e-commerce. Before founding Sabi, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Rensource Distributed Energy Limited, where she led efforts to deliver clean power to over 300 private residences and more than 50,000 merchants across 15 markets in Nigeria.

Her previous roles include serving as Vice President of J-Force at Jumia Group, Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, where she was responsible for sourcing, internal procurement, and vendor acquisition. Anu successfully managed a team of over 55 people, restructured teams and processes, and significantly contributed to Jumia’s revenue growth across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

Earlier in her career, Anu worked with Sahel Capital Partners as a Senior Business Analyst, focusing on the agriculture and nutrition sectors in West Africa. She also gained valuable experience at KPMG Advisory Services in financial modelling, business plan development, and process design, and led operations and material planning at NASCON, a Dangote subsidiary.

Anu has lived and worked across Europe and Africa, including the UK, Denmark, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, bringing a wealth of international experience to her leadership at Sabi.

Ms. Elizabeth Polk is a seasoned global media and technology executive, attorney, and entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in senior leadership roles. She has influenced key business strategies and managed multiple P&Ls at both privately- and publicly-held companies. Additionally, she co-founded and serves as CEO of a wellness business. 

Ms. Polk is also an attorney at Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP, representing high-profile talent, and CEO of Speir Pilates, a premium wellness business. Previously, she served as Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs at Netflix, Inc., where she played a crucial role in the company’s global expansion and original content strategy. Ms. Polk is recognized in Variety’s “Dealmakers Impact Report” and holds a J.D. from Loyola Law School and a B.A. in Communications from Howard University. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and three sons.

Kola is the founding partner at the Pan-African early-stage VC fund, Ventures Platform Fund. He is an experienced investor, insightful non-executive director, and company chair who is passionate about supporting the growth of startups. 

He has a proven track record of success in leading investments in over 100 companies across Africa, India, and the US. This includes payment companies like Paystack and healthcare companies like MDaaS. He was also the founder and former CEO of Emerging Platforms, a leading enterprise software provider in West Africa. He brings expertise across various sectors, including venture capital, technology, media, agriculture, infrastructure, publishing, and real estate.

Kola actively participates in mentoring programs such as XL Africa, the World Bank Accelerator, and Google Launchpad Accelerator. He serves on the boards of multiple organizations, including ARM Financial Advisers, Iron Global Markets, and Reliance HMO.

Dr Juliet Ehimuan is the Founder of Beyond Limits and the immediate past Director of Google in West Africa. She was named by Forbes as one of the top 20 power women in Africa, by the London Business School as one of 30 people changing the world, and MIPAD as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent. She has also been featured in the BBC Africa Power Women series, and on CNN Innovate Africa.

With over 25 years of experience primarily in Technology, Oil & Gas, and New Media industries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Juliet is a leading voice on Innovation, Transformation, and Leadership. She has received numerous awards for outstanding contributions to the digital landscape in Africa.

Juliet holds an Executive MBA from the London Business School, a Postgraduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge; and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She was awarded IT Personality of the Year in 2012 by the Nigeria Computer Society, Digital Personality of the Year 2016 by Marketing World; and received a 2015 Titans of Technology award from TechnologyAfrica. Juliet is the Convener of the DICE platform focused on growing the digital business landscape in Africa by fostering regional and global collaborations, investments, and partnerships.

Olayiwola Isaac popularly known as Layi Wasabi is an amazing talent with an uncanny gift for humour. He has taken social media by storm with his unique blend of wittiness, infectious energy and incredible genius.  The 22-year-old Osogbo-born content creator focuses the theme of his works on the satirical presentation of everyday happenings in society through mild humor and has gathered over 2 million followers on Instagram.

Layi, who has penchant for developing funny, engaging and relatable content, has created a niche for himself with the special character of the Lawyer, dominant in most of his skits. His alter ego, “the law,” adds a unique flavor to his content, drawing inspiration from his legal background.

What sets Layi apart is his dual identity within the skit world – not only a comedic virtuoso but also a lawyer by profession. In 2023, he won The Emerging Force category at the Trendupp Awards, The Revelation of the year at the Nigerian Comedy Award and was also nominated for The Future Awards Africa Prize in Content Creation.

Layi Wasabi recently won Best Digital Content Category at the prestigious Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards 2024.

Ademola Adesina is the Co-Founder of Sabi, which connects African markets through innovative technology. Launched in April 2021, Sabi generated around $1 billion in GMV in 2023 from nearly 300,000 retailers. The Series B platform is backed by investors like CommerzVentures and Norrsken22.

Ademola has extensive experience in early and growth-stage ventures. He previously founded Rensource, led initiatives at Automatiks, AST, and Pagatech, and contributed to the Global Impact Investing Network. He also held leadership roles at Aquifer and Capricorn Investment Group.

Moe Odele is a Tech Attorney with a strong track record of providing strategic counsel to startups, emerging companies, investors, and family offices. With over eight years of experience, she brings valuable knowledge and industry insights to her clients. As the founding Partner at Vazi Legal, a technology-focused firm in the United States and Nigeria, Moe’s current practice centers around Fundraising Advisory, Governance and Compliance, and Technology Transactions and Licensing. She also has a keen interest in Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, Smart Contracts, and DAOs, advising companies in the Web3 space.

Moe’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B.) from Lagos State University, Nigeria, and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from Columbia Law School, New York where she finished as a **David Leebron Human Rights Fellow, Salzburg Lloyd N. Cutler International Law Fellow, and was also awarded the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment LLM Fellowship. She is a member of the New York Bar and is also qualified to practice law in Nigeria. She has lived in Nigeria, the U.S, the U.K and the UAE.

Before Vazi, Moe gained valuable experience working in the non-profit and impact investing industries across Africa and Southeast Asia. Her dedication to access to justice and women’s empowerment remains unwavering. Moe Odele also has experience working in academia, where she has contributed her expertise as a legal practitioner and guest lecturer to US educational institutions. Beyond her legal career, Moe is passionate about slow travel and loves learning about diverse

Jeremy Johnson co-founded Andela in 2014 on the premise that brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.  A decade later, he maintains that no matter where they are or what barriers they face, brilliant people and companies who believe in a better way can find each other, improve together, and build amazing things for the world. Prior to Andela, Jeremy co-founded 2U, which powers world-class online education and is a global leader in the space.

Recognized broadly for his work as an innovator in education technology and the future of work, Jeremy has spoken at the White House and Congress and most major global tech conferences. He has been recognized by Fast Company as “One of the 100 Most Creative in Business”; by Goldman Sachs as “One of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs”; and by his Samoyed, Scout, as “The World’s Best Provider of Treats.”    

Outside of Andela, Jeremy serves on the Presidential Advisory Board for Job Creation for the African Development Bank, is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as a Member of The Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has co-authored a book for the World Economic Forum entitled Education & Skills 2.0: New Targets & Innovative Approaches.

Mobola da-Silva is a Partner at Capria Ventures and is instrumental in driving Capria’s investment strategy in Africa and achieving the firm’s vision and growth ambition across the Global South.  A careful listener and a thoughtful strategist with an innate sense for value, Mobola has spent the last 20+ years of her career working with businesses, from start-ups to central banks, as an investor, as a consultant, and as an advisor.  With a wealth of experience in early-stage investing, she has a deep understanding of the African entrepreneurial landscape and a passion for supporting the incredible potential and innovation emerging from the continent. 

Niyi Toluwalope is currently the MD/CEO of eTranzact International Plc, one of Nigeria’s

leading Super Fintech Company and payment technology infrastructure provider.

Niyi is a highly accomplished, dynamic and results oriented Fintech Professional with solid

credentials and a proven track record in formulating and implementing operational and

financial strategies, identifying investment opportunities, structuring and negotiating multi-

party transactions, establishing best practice financial systems, structures and processes,

as well as building high performance driven organizations.

His over 25-year career spans Financial Technology, Investment Banking, Corporate

Accounting, Corporate Finance, Equity Investment Advisory and Research providing

qualitative and quantitative investment advisory and research to institutional investors.

He gathered his experience in global institutions including JPMorgan Securities Investment

Bank, Citigroup and Credit Suisse First Boston’s Investment Bank all in New York City as well

as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Niyi has led the deployment of several technology and payment solutions across the

country to facilitate the automation and digitization of revenue collections across states,

electronic payments across government parastatals, agencies and the financial services

ecosystem and electronic wallets and other innovative solutions that contributed to the

country’s Financial Inclusion initiative and strategy.

June Angelides has over 13 years of experience working across venture debt, venture capital, and entrepreneurship.  She began her career at Silicon Valley Bank, then launched her startup which she ran for 3 years before joining the investing world. She invests in Europe and Africa across all sectors. Some of her investments include Chowdeck, Craydel, Raenest and CDCare.

Ayeni Oluwatobi Dorcas also known as MissTechy, is a Nigerian tech content creator and graduate of Banking and Finance from Covenant University. She started her tech career in February 2015 with the MissTechy blog and later expanded to YouTube and Instagram.

MissTechy is celebrated for its innovation, quality content, and community engagement, offering tech reviews, insights, and tutorials. Tobi has partnered with brands like Google, MTN, Nescafe, Microsoft, Oppo, Smoov, and Standard Chartered Bank. She has received awards including YTech100 and Best Tech Content Creator in Nigeria. MissTechy aims to demystify technology and make it accessible to all, with future plans to empower young female teens through the MissTechy Academy.

Ashim Egunjobi is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Octerra Capital, an impact driven early-stage investment fund investing in IP rich technology businesses in Africa and beyond. 

Ashim has over 18 years of experience across Banking, Private Equity and Tech, having led and scaled multinational Companies in Africa, Germany, Middle East and Asia, giving her a global perspective as well as local insights into the opportunities and in today’s quickly changing and highly disruptive landscape. 

She is a strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and is vocal around the need for closing the female funding gap in Venture Capital

Michael Olaitan is a distinguished Business Leader and Co-Founder of Powernow , an innovative solar energy startup that integrates the realms of energy and fintech. With more than a decade of experience in the financial sector, Michael has established himself as a key driver of innovation and technology within the industry. Prior to co-founding Powernow, he served as a Business and Partnership Manager at Moniepoint, where he led initiatives that pushed the boundaries of financial technology distribution for Businesses and individuals.

Michael holds a Master’s degree in Information Technology from the National Open University, and attended the prestigious Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, specializing in fintech. His educational background complements his extensive professional experience, positioning him as an expert in business leadership, fintech, and innovation.

Building on his passion for digitalization and innovation, Michael has now co-founded a green tech energy startup

Seyi William-Ogunbiyi is a seasoned product and operations leader, currently serving as the Chief of Products and Operations at Selar. His journey with the company began as a Senior Product Manager, where his strategic insights and leadership quickly earned him a promotion to an executive role.

With over six years of experience in Asia, Seyi has worked at renowned companies like Alibaba and NetEase, where he excelled in business development and project management. His ability to manage complex, cross-cultural projects has been instrumental in fueling his passion for the e-commerce sector and honing his expertise in product localization and operations.

Before joining Selar, Seyi built a strong foundation in the banking industry. At GTBank (now GTCO), he served as a Product Manager in the Fintech and Innovation Division, where he played a pivotal role in driving technological advancements and product innovation. He also led the product team in the Inclusive Banking Division of another tier-2 bank, where he focused on leveraging technology to expand financial services to underserved communities. He further honed his product management skills at Klasha, significantly driving growth and innovation in the company’s product offerings.

Seyi’s diverse professional background has deeply rooted his passion for both e-commerce and fintech. He holds an MSc in World Economics and a BSc in International Economics and Trade. Now back in Nigeria, Seyi continues to drive innovation and operational excellence, contributing significantly to Selar’s ongoing growth and success.

Adédèjì is the founder of Lendsqr, the loan infrastructure fintech powering lenders at scale. He’s also the chairman of Paystack, a Stripe company, and one of the most successful startups in Africa. Before this, he led Trium Limited, the corporate venture capital arm of the Coronation Group, which invested in Woven Finance, Sparkle Bank, Clane, and L1ght, amongst Others. He has almost two decades of banking experience, including stints as the Divisional Head of Electronic Banking at Fidelity Bank Plc. He drove the turnaround of the bank’s digital business. He was previously responsible for United Bank for Africa Group’s payment card business across 19 countries. Alongside other industry veterans, he founded Open Banking Nigeria, the nonprofit driving the development and adoption of a common API standard for the Nigerian financial industry. Adédèjì is a renowned fintech pundit and has been blogging on technology and payments at dejiolowe.com since 2001.

Buchi Okoro Co-founded and leads a team of 100+ people at Quidax a leading cryptocurrency exchange where he’s CEO. Quidax is run by people who are crazy enough to believe they can build something that puts Africa on the map and is currently the largest Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange. He’s championing the vision at Quidax where sending crypto across the globe is as easy as sending a text message. When he’s not killing it wearing his CEO hat, Buchi enjoys diving into a good book, paintballing, and spinning tracks as a mini DJ

Femi Aluko is the CEO and co-founder of Chowdeck, Africa’s leading on-demand delivery service. Founded in October 2021 and backed by Y Combinator, Chowdeck enables seamless on-demand delivery of meals, groceries, medicines and other items in Africa, making it easier for consumers to access items they desire and driving more growth and profitability for businesses.

Before co-founding Chowdeck, Femi was Principal Engineer at Paystack where he led the development of payment infrastructure that processed tens of millions of transactions monthly.

Adetutu Laditan is a seasoned marketing strategist with a decade-long track

record of driving digital transformation in Africa. As a Senior Product

Marketing Manager at Google, she spearheaded YouTube's growth in Sub-

Saharan Africa, leveraging her passion for connecting people with compelling

content to develop innovative strategies and empower creators.

Adetutu, known as Tutu, has a unique approach to marketing and

technology. Her time at Google showcased her ability to harness the power

of technology to connect with consumers, empower creators, and drive

measurable results. With a deep understanding of consumer behavior and a

passion for digital storytelling, Tutu is a catalyst for growth who believes

that technology will continue to be a key driver for economic growth and

development, creating new growth opportunities for investment and cultural

influence.

Tutu is committed to unlocking the potential of Africa#39;s digital landscape and

empowering creators to harness the potential of online platforms. Her

creative storytelling skills and deep understanding of consumer behavior

enable her to develop innovative strategies that connect brands and creators

with their audiences.

Before joining Google, Adetutu led high-impact campaigns for global media

agency OMD, where she successfully revitalized multi-million dollar brand

portfolios. Her experience and expertise have positioned her as a leading

voice in the African marketing landscape.

Kasim is a digital economy expert with 18 years of experience in private equity,

Intellectual property, digital identity, and regulatory compliance. He has facilitated

the development of policiy in Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, digital Identity,

digital rights, intermediary liability and online safety, and data protection. He is

currently a member of the United Nations' Study Group on Digital Public

Infrastructure (DPI). He led the drafting committee of the Nigerian Startup Act.

Kasim was the pioneer lead for investigations and enforcement of the Nigerian Data

Protection Regulations and has engaged the regulatory authorities in Ethiopia,

Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria in developing comprehensive ID systems.

Kasim is also the Director of regulatory and governmental affairs for Smile Identity

Inc. in the United Kingdom. He was the pioneer National Coordinator for the Office

for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) and a Chief Legal Officer at the National

Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Nigeria. He is also an

Adviser on Policy to Nigeria's Honorable Minister of Communications, Innovation and

Digital Transformation.

Marlon Nichols is the co-founder and managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionary founders building the future that the world wants to see. Marlon has an extensive background in technology, private equity, media and entertainment. His unique eye for global and cultural trends, along with shifts in consumer behaviour, has helped him uplift and accelerate entrepreneurs and companies that are on the verge of their breakthrough moment.

Ozzy Etomi the brand director for Dye Lab, one of Nigeria’s leading fashion brands. She is a brand and integrated marketing & communication strategist whose expertise sits at the unique intersection of community, media, social impact, brand building, design, and communications. She has worked across various industries including e-commerce, education, and financial technology. Ozzy graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a degree in Anthropology and also holds a degree in design from Parsons. She was a part of the founding team at Jumia Nigeria and Kisua in South Africa, and has led communication strategy & PR at WAEAC, Paga and Mastercard for East and West Africa. She is also a speaker and published writer with a core focus on gender advocacy and women-related issues with her work featured in publications such as Brown’s & The Huffington Post, and was named a top 10 writer on Medium. She has helped champion, educate and crowdfund fund on various causes for women in Nigeria and is a founding member of The Feminist Coalition, set up with a mission to champion equality for women in Nigerian society. Her other passions include anything Beyoncé related.

Uzoma Dozie is a leading figure in the Nigerian finance and banking landscape, with expertise spanning banking, technology, and investment. He currently serves as the CEO and Founder of Sparkle, a mobile-first micro-finance bank and technology platform focused on empowering Nigeria’s digital natives and retail sector. Uzoma boasts over 20 years of experience in the Nigerian banking sector, culminating in his role as Group Managing Director and Bank CEO of Diamond Bank from 2014 to 2018. There, he spearheaded the bank’s digital transformation agenda, whilst growing the customer base to 18m+. During his tenure, Uzoma successfully navigated the institution’s merger with Access Bank Plc, resulting in the new institution becoming Africa’s largest bank. Following his traditional banking career,

Uzoma turned his focus to Sparkle, a platform designed to address the lifestyle needs of individuals and small businesses. This commitment reflects Uzoma’s deep-seated belief in leveraging technology to advance financial inclusion and empower the retail sector. He holds a BSc in Chemistry [University of Reading], an MSc in Chemical Research [UCL] and an MBA from Imperial College London. 

Adedayo “Dayo” Okesola is the VP of Product Engineering at Flutterwave. He is an innovative product leader with about ten years of experience in software engineering, solutions architecture, technical leadership, technology transformations, and solutions R&D for commercial banks, fintechs, NGOs, and e-government services. At Flutterwave, Dayo leads the product Engineering teams across multiple countries to drive the development and delivery of cutting-edge products that meet the evolving customers’ needs and drive business growth.

Dayo’s leadership of the Send App Product, Flutterwave’s remittance solution, USSD Infrastructure, and notable platform stability projects are part of his proven track record of delivering innovative solutions across the payment ecosystem in Nigeria and beyond. He holds a BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and is committed to enabling business success with software solutions.

Mika is a business operator turned investor. He was born in Dakar, Senegal and raised in Nouakchott, Mauritania. He’s a fourth-generation Lebanese immigrant entrepreneur in West Africa and lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He started angel investing in technology founders in 2014 and founded P1 Ventures (www.p1.ventures) five years ago. He is a Berkeley engineer and Stanford MBA graduate.

Babajide Duroshola joined M-KOPA Nigeria as the General Manager in July 2021. Prior to M-KOPA, he was the Country Director at SafeBoda Nigeria where he was responsible for the overall growth of the business. He is a Business Management Executive with extensive expertise in startups, technology, banking and consulting. With over 10 years of extensive transnational experience across roles, he has developed comprehensive competence in business operations and management, strategy, marketing, community and ecosystem management and engagement.

Multilaterally skilled, Babajide is also a Limited Partner at Rallycap Global. This emerging market investment fund focuses on investing in exciting startups in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia. Babajide via Rallycap has led investment processes into exciting companies like Risevest, while also participating in investments into other companies in Africa and Latin America.

Prior to SafeBoda, he was the Community Manager, Technical Talent at Andela where he was responsible for leading the community and owning the brand of Andela, to attract new community members and fellows to the organization. He has also served as a Team Member of Human Resources at Access Bank and a Human Capital Consultant at a leading local consulting firm.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Technology in Computer Science and Technology from the Bells University of Technology, Otta and is a PDA Personality Development Analyst (PDA). In addition to his professional work schedule, Babajide participates in community building and social intervention through volunteering. He is a program assistant with the Young Professionals Program (YPP) which is part of the community improvement work at Covenant Nation, the faith-based group he belongs to.

Peace is a multifaceted Marketing leader with 10+ years of experience and has lead marketing teams for companies like Smile ID, Seedstars, Africhange, Kora and more.

She is also the creator and chief executive of Founders Connect. Founders Connect is an organisation dedicated to showcasing the inspiring stories of African entrepreneurs and business leaders through video storytelling and by creating opportunities for the community to engage via in-person events across different cities including Lagos, London, Toronto etc and their closed slack community.

Beyond her marketing career, Peace has built a brand as a global thought leader. She has served as a Growth Mentor for Seedstars Growth Program and trained for Google, British Council, Facebook and the Digital Marketing Institute and she is a TED speaker. In addition, she is an Angel Investor with a portfolio of over 15 companies and Venture Partner with HoaQ and Ingressive Capital

Chisom Nwokwu is a multi-talented Software Engineer, Published Author and Digital Creator. Passionate about Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, her expertise cuts across leveraging big-data and cloud technologies to design and develop scalable data platforms for organisations.

She has worked with some of the biggest international firms, such as Microsoft, where she worked in the Windows Engineering Team and Bank of America, where she worked as a Technology Analyst on the Robotics & Automation Team.

She is also the author of a popular book titled “A Techie’s Guide into Big Tech Companies” a valuable resource that helps aspiring software engineers secure roles at top international tech firms. In addition to her professional achievements, Chisom is an accomplished public speaker and YouTuber, playing a pivotal role in the global tech scene.

Dotun Adekunle is a pivotal figure in the Nigerian fintech space and one of the founding
members of OPay. As the current COO and CTO of OPay, Dotun has been instrumental in
shaping the company’s growth trajectory, leveraging his deep expertise in technology and
operations to lead OPay’s expansion in Nigeria and beyond. His leadership and innovative
mindset have been key in OPay’s development into a leading digital financial services
provider.
Before rejoining OPay in his current role, Dotun served as Senior Vice President at
Flutterwave, where he achieved remarkable success by facilitating strategic partnership with
top-tier merchants and growing the company’s Offline Business significantly.
Prior to his time at Flutterwave, Dotun was OPay’s Vice President of Agency Banking and
Chief Technology Officer. In these roles, he led the engineering team in Lagos, to build the
“old OPay.” Dotun’s contributions to the development of key products such as OPay POS,
OPay Instant Card, and Pay with OPay helped lay the foundation for the company’s rapid
success. With over 19 years of experience in the Nigerian market, Dotun is a specialist in
developing, implementing, and managing core electronic and mobile payment systems.
As the first indigenous technical staff of OPay and the founding technical lead of Paycom,
the precursor to OPay, Dotun’s influence on OPay’s early successes is profound. His deep
knowledge of the Nigerian payments ecosystem and strong industry relationships have
helped OPay become a dominant player in the sector.
Dotun remains committed to working with the current leadership and entire OPay team to
achieve even greater success, ensuring OPay continues to scale and drive financial
inclusion across Africa.

Akeem Olujinmi Lawal is part of the founding management team at Interswitch Group and currently leads the Transaction Switching & Payments Processing (Purepay) division of The  Interswitch Group as Managing Director where is responsible for the business line that contributes about half of the group’s revenue. He is a first class graduate in engineering with business degrees from the prestigious Lagos business school and the IESE business school of the University of Navarra, Spain.

With over twenty (23) years’ experience in electronic payments, payments technology, strategy and business management, his experience includes the Financial Technology, Information and Communications Technology as well as Technology in the Oil & Gas industry. He was the head of the Engineering team that built the Interswitch Super Switch infrastructure, and as a business leader, has been responsible for building and managing several business lines in his career and also for the successful launch of several innovative products into the African Fintech Ecosystem. 

Charles is dedicated to accelerating early-stage startups and cultivating the climate tech startup ecosystem in Nigeria and across the continent; working with The Catalyst Fund. With over 10 years of diverse experience spanning consulting, energy, technology, and education, he brings a wealth of expertise.

Previously a Consultant with McKinsey & Company, Charles played a pivotal role in strategy formulation, organizational transformation, workforce transformation, and the design and launch of digital businesses across various sectors. His credentials as a chartered professional engineer in Australia reflect his proficiency in data, technology, energy, utilities, and resources.

Driven by a passion for positive social impact, Charles founded AlumUnite, a data platform revolutionizing education financing with a pivotal role for Africa’s alumni community. His global perspective, shaped by work and personal exploration across all six continents, enriches his insights. Charles holds an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona, and an MSc in Energy and Resources from University College London, Australia. His academic journey began with a Bachelor’s in Power Systems Engineering (First Class) from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.

Mayowa Olaniyan is an insightful Business Executive with sturdy managerial expertise. Until her recent appointment as the Group Managing Director/CEO of Chams Holding Company PLC, she was the MD/CEO of Chamsmobile Limited, a fast-growing FinTech company licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide Mobile Money Operations and Agency services. Prior to that role, she served as the Executive Director overseeing finance, strategy, and corporate services for Chams Group.  Mayowa has built an accomplished and well-recognized career of over 28 years that spans across Technology, Strategy, Finance, Audit, and Automobile. Over the years, she has established a record of success by significantly growing business value and maximizing profits through internal control and efficiency. It is noteworthy that Mayowa led the implementation of one of Chams PLC’s most successful public-private partnership projects, deriving cost optimization for the partnering state government and achieving increased earnings for the company. In the past years, Mayowa has served in various managerial capacities in renowned organizations such as SCOA Nigeria PLC and Tranter International Ltd. She later joined Supercard Limited (a then subsidiary of Chams PLC) as the AGM Corporate Services, where she oversaw the company’s corporate activities. At various points, Mayowa moved on to occupy strategic positions such as Group Head, Internal Audit and Risk Management, and GM Finance and Accounts within the Chams Group. Her excellent performance earned her the appointment as Chief Financial Officer in 2015, a position she held until her appointment as an Executive Director at Chams PLC.

A   chartered   accountant   of   repute,   a   Fellow   of   the   Institute   of   Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), and Associate Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a global body for professional Accountants. Mayowa holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, UK. She has a degree in

Applied Accounting and a postgraduate diploma from Oxford Brooks University, UK.  She is an alumna of the prestigious Pan Atlantic University (Lagos Business School), Nigeria, the University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa, and NANYANG Technology University, Singapore.

Mayowa Olaniyan, Chams’ Amazon, serves on the board of several organizations within the Chams group and other organizations

Kenfield is the CEO and Co-Founder of Tappi, an end-to-end SaaS for small businesses helping them to find more customers and keep the ones they already have. 

After graduating from MIT with a PhD in Design and Computation, Kenfield built Ajua, an enterprise SaaS platform solving the problem of first-party data that served some of the largest telcos, banks, and retail in Africa to drive operational efficiency, customer retention, and customer acquisition. Ken grew that business to serve brands such as MTN, Safaricom, Kenya Airways, Standard Chartered Bank and other large businesses, before starting Tappi to bring the same software sophistication to small businesses across Africa. 

Kenfield has degrees in Computer Science and Systems Engineering. Kenfield hails from a 5,000-person island called Montserrat, with ties to Barbados and Nigeria.

Aaron leads early-stage fintech investing at the Digital Currency Group (DCG),  backing fintech, AI and crypto founders on their journeys to build the next generation of financial services.

He’s also co-founder of Venture for Africa, one of Africa’s leading startup-focused non-technical talent platforms, and the Obuntu Foundation, a fellowship for emerging managers in Africa. 

Oji Udezue is an experienced Product leader of large and innovative software organizations, with stints in marketing, sales, engineering, and design leadership. He has a track record for building customer-centric products and bringing them to market while managing and mentoring high-performance teams.
He is currently finishing his book “Building Rocketship – Product Management for product-led companies” – a practical wisdom-laced tome for PMs/PM leaders building the next generation of successful software companies and collaborators. He’s been recently working at the forefront of AI software company building, infusing AI into Tyepform.com, and building a new venture under Typeform’s brand – https://formless.ai. 

He is known for bringing a product-led growth (PLG) mindset to the companies he joins. He is the Chief Product Officer at Typeform.com, a product that strives to make the web more human. He led the Content, Creation, and Conversation team on Twitter – leading Tweets, DMs, Spaces, the Creators Initiative, and more. He was also formerly Chief Product Officer at Calendly where he helped 5x the company and turn it into a unicorn. He was also Head of Product for Atlassian’s Communication division where he led product strategy & execution for Atlassian Stride, launching Atlassian’s first product post-IPO. He has held product leadership positions at Spiceworks and at Bridgewater Associates, which he joined after over a decade in Product Management at Microsoft. 

In his free time, he mentors startups, focusing on companies with diverse and women founders and B2B SaaS as ProductMind. He’s the Managing Partner of the Kernel Fund which invests in startups in Africa and a member of the Board of Directors at Quitch. Oji is working on a book about Product Management for PLG companies and also writes a lot about building products and teams on Substack.

Moyo Sodipo is a tech entrepreneur and product strategist passionate about advancing

emerging technologies in Africa, especially Blockchain. He co-founded Busha, Nigeria’s

leading regulated cryptocurrency exchange platform, with over 800,000 users, where he

currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer. Before Busha, Moyo led product and

business development efforts at SureGroup, a premier digital voucher aggregator and

retailer in Nigeria and Kenya. Moyo began his technology career in 2012 as a founding

team member of e-commerce giant Jumia, where he played a critical role in developing

foundational IT infrastructure and promoting the e-commerce ecosystem in Africa

Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub-Saharan Africa, has played a crucial role in expanding Spotify’s presence across the African continent. She spearheads the music strategy there working with a team of Music Editors and Artist&Label Partners whose efforts have significantly contributed to the growing global influence of African music genres including Afrobeats and Amapiano.

Victor Alade, the CEO, and co-founder of Raenest, is a seasoned professional with a rich history in the tech industry. He launched Raenest in 2022, leveraging his extensive experience and innovative vision.
Before his role at Raenest, Victor held influential positions in renowned organisations. At Acumen Fund in the United States, Victor served as an Engineering Manager, leading the development of Acumen Academy, a globally recognised online social impact platform.

His expertise was also evident during his tenure as a Senior Software Engineer and Salesforce Screener at Andela, a prominent unicorn outsourcing company headquartered in the United States.
Furthermore, Victor was pivotal in overseeing technical integration efforts at JumiaPay (Jumia) across four countries. Additionally, Victor built a cryptocurrency payment gateway at Jostpay, enabling African businesses to accept payments through cryptocurrency.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Victor has demonstrated his commitment to social impact through volunteer work, including his contribution to the development of a mobile app for one of the largest churches in Africa.

Over 20 years industry experience. Pioneer staff of Interswitch and is currently the Managing Director, Interswitch Paytoken after a successful tenure as the Group Head, Business Incubation and Innovation; a role he took up in April 2018.

Prior to this, for four years, Vincent was the Chief Executive Officer of National Payment Switch of The Gambia (Gamswitch) in which Interswitch has vested interest

Joined Interswitch as a Technical Engineer and through diligence and dedication, rose to the Senior Management cadre in the company.

Basil Udotai, Esq., is the Founding Partner of JOHNSON & WILNER LLP, a Business and Technology Law Practice focused on Nigeria’s digital economy. With over twenty years in Technology Law, Policy, and Regulation, he has played a crucial role in Nigeria’s tech development. 

As Coordinator of the Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group and Director of Cybersecurity at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mr. Udotai led the creation of key cybercrime and cybersecurity frameworks. At the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), he negotiated influential policies and transactions, including the Government-wide Software Licensing Agreement with Microsoft and the .ng ccTLD Redelegation Agreement with ICANN. Known as the Father of Technology Law in Nigeria, Mr. Udotai continues to offer strategic counsel to clients in the digital space.

Fiona Weeks is a dynamic storyteller dedicated to unveiling and sharing the unique narratives behind every brand. As Managing Director of Pulse West Africa, she leads the creation and execution of innovative digital strategies, ensuring top-notch creative and editorial standards for marketing clients and media brands alike.

Her diverse career includes roles in brand management at Unilever’s global headquarters in Rotterdam and as a broadcast journalist with ABC News in Maryland, USA. Fiona holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management, highlighting her commitment to both creative and strategic excellence.

Outside of work, Fiona is a passionate foodie who enjoys exploring Lagos’s vibrant culinary scene, always seeking the next great dining experience.

Preston Ideh is the co-founder and CEO of Stears, an African financial data company. Stears is the data and insights provider that enables quick, accurate decisions during the investment process. Stears users get access to industry, company, transaction, and macro data as well as constantly updated reports by researchers. Preston previously worked as a structured finance lawyer at Linklaters, one of Europe’s elite Magic Circle law firms, before joining the Mergers & Acquisitions team at the global energy company BP. He attended the London School of Economics before moving back to Nigeria to focus on building Stears, now tipped to become the Bloomberg of Africa. 

Wiza Jalakasi is an international business development expert specialising in the setup and operations of high-performance technology startups across Africa, often sharing moments from his journey on Twitter @wizaj. His career experience spans 13 years and 16 African countries, founding and building tech startups across industry verticals in the B2B and B2C space.

Wiza is currently the Director of Africa Market Development at Ebanx, a Brazilian headquartered global payments processor serving over 1,000 merchants to reach over a billion customers in 29 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Before joining Ebanx, Wiza previously served as Vice President of Global Merchant Business at Chipper Cash – a cross-border mobile money service with over 5 million users.

He is also a Venture Partner at RaliCap, a global collective venture fund combining capital, operating expertise and networks into a collaborative investment community targeting emerging markets. Wiza also serves as the Africa host for ThisWeekInFintech.com Fintech Happy Hours, bringing together thousands of fintech professionals at memorable events in Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town and other cities.

Ms Lavina is a prominent figure in the advancement of responsible AI, dedicated to harnessing technology for good and unlocking Africa’s potential. Recognised as a Top 10 Leader in advancing AI globally.

A true “full-stack human,” Lavina combines her expertise in psychology, technology, and economics to bring a unique and insightful perspective to AI development. Her dedication and achievements are evident in her numerous accolades. A true futurist who’s vision is to accelerate the world’s augmentation of data by creating a more intelligent tomorrow through the footprints of collective humane knowledge. She’s not just a leader; she’s an inspiration, earning the title “#aiMOM” for fostering responsible development for a better tomorrow.

Segun is currently the Chief Digital Officer for Wema Bank. He is active and passionate about developing the Tech startup ecosystem within Africa, providing an enabling environment for nurturing, mentoring innovators and ideators, and a focus on building “local global” businesses out of Africa leveraging on the strength of strategic partners and collaboration. He is a trained Software Engineer and Business Manager, possessing a 1st degree in Software Engineering from the University of Central England in Birmingham, and an MBA from University of Warwick.

In addition to working with Global Software providers and Telecoms operators in every phase of the Software Development Life Cycle, he brings a strong, rare and unique balance of Commercial and Technical skills required to excel in businesses with challenges around resource productivity/skill-sets and team dynamics; as well as, extensive knowledge and experience from providing advisory and consulting to various global investors on deciding on investments and maximising their return on investments for their investments in IT & Technology businesses.

Prior to joining Wema Bank, Segun was Head of Africa Fintech Foundry, where he drove a series of Technology partnerships across a number of industry segments, as well as led delivery of a number of innovative solutions to lead transformation to digital bank and adopt a new wave of customers. His previous experiences are in Consulting, and with Telecoms OEMs and Software companies like Castellum Consulting, Rancard, Oracle, Nokia and IBM.

Uche Aniche is a tech and business innovation leader, an Angel Investor and an Africa’s Secondary Cities focused Fund Manager with over two decades of experience in business communication, process design, Startup & Innovation Management, Product development and Community Leadership.

Arguably the foremost advocate for  Startup/Entrepreneurship Ecosystem development out of Nigeria’s South-South/South-East through #StartupSouth, he has helped founders raise funding running into $Millions across Nigeria. #StartupSouth is a Startup & Innovation Community/Project inspiring the next generation of high scale founders in Nigeria.

A serial Entrepreneur and founder of Havilah & Hills Innovative Systems Limited, he serves as a Director at SSE Angel Network and General Partner at Rebel Seed Capital and until recently, was the Communication Director at Imo Economic Summit Group – a Tink-Tank professional group advocating for economic development of Imo State.

Michel Deelen is a skilled diplomat and team builder with many years of experience in international relations. He graduated in 1994 from Maastricht University (Law School) with a specialization in international trade law and human rights.

In his multi-faceted career, that included representing the Netherlands at the EU, the World Bank, the EBRD, the WTO and ECOWAS, he worked among others in Afghanistan, Turkey, Switzerland (Geneva), Nigeria, South Sudan and Libya.

His fields of expertise are:
* Good governance, conflict areas, transitions, human rights,
* WTO trade law, trade and development, markets and private sector development,
* Trade promotion, matchmaking, Economic Diplomacy,
* European Energy Law, international energy relations, energy security, nuclear energy,
* Infrastructure and government procurement,
* Cultural diplomacy, international culture policy.

Michel Deelen is an experienced manager, currently assisting in the process of turning the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs into one of the most modern diplomatic organisations.

Adeleke Alex-Adedipe is a distinguished corporate commercial lawyer and the Managing Partner at Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe (the “Firm”). He leads the Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice, as well as the mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance, and Business advisory practice groups. With nearly two decades of experience, Adeleke specializes in TMT, Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, and other corporate commercial practices. He has participated in and facilitated numerous trainings, seminars, and conferences on finance documentation, mergers and acquisitions, and TMT within and outside Nigeria. 

Adeleke has earned recognition throughout his career for his contributions to the legal profession. His most recent recognition was by Who’s Who Legal as a National Leader in Banking and Finance (2024) for his significant achievements in the industry. He serves as an Executive Council Member of the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law and as an Executive Council Member of the Capital Market Solicitors Association. Additionally, he was a member of the International Bar Association and formerly served on the Lagos State Science Research Innovation Council (LASRIC) by appointment of the Governor of Lagos State. Until recently he was a member of the Board of Directors of Polaris Bank Ltd.  Adeleke represents the Firm on the Nigerian Fintech Advocacy Group and the Open Banking Nigeria Association. He is a staunch advocate for the growth and development of technology in Africa.

Ojoma Ochai is the Managing Director of CcHUB, Africa’s largest innovation centre that supports and invests in tech and creative entrepreneurs to drive African prosperity. She co-founded CcHUB’s Creative Economy Practice and serves on global panels like UNESCO’s Expert Panel on Cultural Expressions, where she advises on AI and emerging technologies in the creative industries. With nearly 20 years of experience in International Cultural Relations and leading Creative and Digital Economy projects, she has worked with organisations such as the British Council, World Bank, and various national governments. Ojoma also co-chairs the

Microsoft and UNDP Reference Group on AI for Development and was a Rockefeller Bellagio Centre Resident in 2023, focusing on AI and Blockchain in Creative Economy policy. She serves on the boards of ₿ Trust, Africa No Filter, and Pixel Ray Studios, contributing to both creative and technological development across Africa.

Venkatesh Rathnam (Venkat) is a technologist banker with 35 years of experience in banking, financial services, and consulting. His career covers global leadership roles in technology, operations, and product development in international organizations, including Deutsche Bank, Citibank, and Standard Chartered Bank. Currently, he is the Group Chief Information Officer of Access Bank and is responsible for Information Technology and Digitization for the banking organization in Nigeria and its subsidiaries. Throughout his career, Venkat has focused on leveraging technology to assist businesses in improving client value proposition, efficiency, and overall productivity. A continuous learner, Venkat is passionate about workplace diversity and creating a harmonious working environment that assists teams and new talent to learn and improve continually.

Venkat has a degree in Business and Accounting from the University of Madras and has completed leadership training at the Said Business School Oxford University

Brian is a Partner at Novastar Ventures, one of the biggest and most experienced global VC fund managers in Africa. The firm has nearly a decade’s track record of investing on the continent, over US$200m of funds under management and 24 portfolio companies. With offices in Lagos, London and Nairobi, Novastar partners with transformative businesses that create lasting financial, social and environmental value for the many, not just the few, for people and planet – for good. Novastar portfolio companies have, to date, directly benefitted more than 23m customers, employees and suppliers. As one of the first institutional VCs in Africa, Novastar helped to create the venture asset class in Africa and continues to promote it globally.

Prior to venture capital, Brian was an entrepreneur across multiple African markets including: being part of the founding team that started Jumia, a listed and award-winning e-commerce platform in Africa; co-founding Zamsolar, a last-mile renewable energy company in Zambia, and leading operations at Livelyhoods (now Solar Sister Kenya), a last mile, clean products distribution startup in Kenya. Brian led Novastar’s investments in Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt), TradeDepot, MAX.AI (formerly MAX.ng) and Ignitia and is a Board Director on all of these companies. Brian joined Novastar in 2015 and leads its activities in West Africa.

Jessica Hope is the Founder of Wimbart, the leading African-tech-focused PR consultancy. Launched in 2015, Wimbart has worked on over 150 of the continent’s most exciting and well-funded brands and companies with a focus on Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and the MENA region. 

Jessica has grown the team to over 20 PR professionals, located in London, but who have a connection to Africa. Prior to starting her own PR company, Jessica worked at  the Natural History Museum, and the Jewish Museum and was Head of  Communications for the African entertainment brand, IROKO

An expert in her field, with over 15 years’ experience in communications,  Jessica and her team have crafted strategic, impactful media campaigns and communications for both Seed and Venture-backed start-ups, Unicorns,  entrepreneurs and global public bodies.  She has been named in PRWeek’s Powerbook 2019-24, she is a mentor for UK-based BME PR Pros, and also for Google Launchpad Africa and was recognised as one of Provoke’s EMEA “Innovators to Watch” 2021.

Addy Awofisayo is a Music, Content and Tech Executive with expertise in Africa’s Creative Economy. She is currently the Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, responsible for defining and executing the strategy for African music. In this role, she works with artists, labels and music companies to grow their businesses on YouTube, and form partnerships with organizations to grow the music ecosystem in Africa. She pioneered the Africa Day Concert in 2020 which was hosted by Idris Elba to celebrate and elevate African artists and music.

Previously, she led Content Partnerships for Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, working with

Creators and Media companies on the continent. In that role, she led the launch of initiatives such as Africa Creator Week and YouTube Black Voices Fund to provide growth opportunities for creators on the continent.  Addy has over 15 years of global experience working in various strategy, finance, content, and partnerships roles across Africa, Europe, and North America. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Masters degree from Harvard University.

Dolapo is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the creative and tech industries. He runs WeTalkSound, a 360-creative company that leverages community, content & tech to design digital experiences for brands such as EMPIRE, Sony Music, Aristokrat Records, Davido Music Worldwide, Bolt, Smoov Chapman, as well as artists like Joeboy, Lojay, Reminisce, Teni and many more. Dolapo was named a professional member of the Grammys’ Recording Academy in 2023. He is also a member of the BET Awards voting academy. He has been named one of the top 20 under-30 persons shaping Nigerian music by Pulse Nigeria. In the past, he served in various roles at Bolt, KPMG, and Total E&P. Now, he drives product usage and growth as a Product Marketing Manager at Google.

Onyemelukwe is an African and Global media, entertainment and music expert. Mr. Onyemelukwe has worked in media and entertainment in the U.S., Nigeria and across Africa. He started his career at The Disney Company in Burbank California immediately after completing his BA.

In Fine Arts from The University of Southern California. After returning to The African Continent, in 2009, he joined Viacom Media as MTV Network, Business Development Manager, Nigeria, where he created campaigns for the likes of LG, Coca-Cola, and Cadbury among many others. Mr. Onyemelukwe acquired a master license to Trace TV in West Africa in 2011 and his company was acquired by the Trace Group in 2019.

Onyemelukwe is widely recognized for turning Trace into a market leader in the region. He has launched many popular TV channels such as Trace Naija, Trace Jama and Trace Gospel on DSTV, and STV Music on Startimes.  Onyemelukwe holds an MBA and an MA. in Information Technology from Boston University. 

Ayowole leads a world-class team at Fincra in building payment gateway for fintechs, platforms, corporates & global businesses operating across the globe. Passionate about developing a better global payment system for today’s digital world, Ayowole is convinced that Africa has enormous potential to become the new frontier of this financial opportunity. He has a background in Finance from Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria, where he was a key member of the Credit Risk Management Team, and a growing career spanning 7+ years.

Prior to Fincra, he co-founded Quidax, one of Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges where he led the Product, Business, nTreasury & Customer Success teams. Over the years, Ayowole has recognised the difficulties that businesses face with making and receiving payments across Africa and he has remained committed to lowering the barriers and solving the challenges. He is passionate about the Fintech space and he loves football.

Olubayo (Bayo) Adekanmbi is a C-level Business and Technical leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Innovations, and Geospatial Data Science with over 22 years of experience. He is recognised as one of the top 50 Data Innovators in the world by the US-based Corrinium Intelligence. He has a PhD from the University of London (City).

He is a recent winner of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Grand Challenge for his work on the use of Artificial Intelligence Large Language Models for Financial Inclusion. Bayo has led his team at Data Science Nigeria/DSNai to build many AI for social good products, five of which have been recognised by UNESCO/IRCAI as part of the Global Top 100 list of AI products for social impact in 2021 and 2022. He is a leading academic researcher whose work has been published at top global AI conferences, including NeuRIPS, AAAI, CVPR, ICLR and ICML.

He has worked on Telecoms mobility data, financial behaviour and diverse geo-referenced datasets for many years as C-level executive in charge of advanced analytics, innovation and data strategy for Africa’s 2 largest telcos (MTN Nigeria/South Africa and Airtel Africa) across over 30 African countries and working on datasets of over 250 million subscribers.

Sunil Natraj joined Jumia in 2022 with extensive experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Jumia, he briefly handled the Jumia Express logistics business as VP of Sales and Marketing before transitioning to become the CEO of Jumia Ghana.

Ghana saw stellar growth under his leadership with revenues growing almost 100% YoY in USD.  He has taken Jumia to all parts of Ghana and Jumia Ghana now has a higher share of orders coming in from upcountry rather than from the capital city.

He had been based in Ghana for over 10 years, where he worked for large food-producing multinationals with operations in Europe and Africa.  Sunil is an IT Engineer and holds an MBA from The Indian Institute of Management

Calcutta.

Godwin Tom is a highly accomplished talent manager, entrepreneur, founder of the Music Business Academy for Africa and the current Managing Director of Sony Music Publishing, Nigeria. With a career spanning over two decades, Godwin has played a transformative role in the Nigerian music industry, helping to shape the careers of some of the country’s most successful talents, including Wizkid, Davido, Wande Coal, Ice Prince, Waje, Show Dem Camp, M.I, Beverly Naya and many others. His expertise in artist development, brand management, and global music strategy has made him a key figure in the growth of African music and creative industries on the international stage.

As the founder and CEO of iManage Africa, Godwin built one of Nigeria’s leading talent management companies, providing strategic career guidance for artists, entertainers, and creative professionals. His commitment to fostering professionalism and structure in the industry is further demonstrated through his founding of the Music Business Academy for Africa, a training institute dedicated to educating and mentoring the next generation of music business professionals.

Ahunna Ogunedo is an Investment Manager at 54 Collective, where she works closely with portfolio founders, external founders, and other key stakeholders to create shared value across the venture investment chain and help founders build without boundaries. Before joining 54 Collective, Ahunna was a Senior Associate in Investments at CRE Venture Capital, where she was responsible for deal sourcing, deal assessments, portfolio management, and research. A detail-oriented professional who is committed to delivering the best outcomes, Ahunna is a certified chartered accountant and holds a BSc in Accounting from Redeemer’s University.

Oti currently serves as the Investment Principal with Alitheia managing investments across two funds. Oti has 15 years of experience in Private equity, financial advisory, Consulting, and Technology. Over the last 7 years he has directly/indirectly led investments in several enterprises across several sectors including technology, agriculture, energy/power and manufacturing. He has previously held positions with Amazon, EY and PwC

Toun Tunde-Anjous is the Founder of The People Practice, a People Advisory company that powers companies through people, culture and technology.

Prior to this, she was the Founding Director of People at Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) and led its people operations across Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya. Here, she also managed the recruitment of corporate partnerships, including Facebook and the U.S. Consulate.

She has a degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham, UK, and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, UK. She is a Chartered People Management Professional (ACIPD) and the author of Your Interview Cheat Code, a book that helps people secure and thrive in roles.

She has been recognized as a Culture Expert and featured on BBC Africa to share how her company accelerates culture alignment and proactively deals with workplace harassment. She is passionate about reshaping Africa’s work culture, building OnCulture, a platform that helps companies find, grow and engage their employees.

Yvonne Okafor is an investments and strategy professional passionate about sustainable financing and development in emerging markets, with a current focus on Africa.

Over the years, Yvonne has worked on investment deals and projects at the intersection of impact and innovation, providing varying levels of support to impact-focused investment firms, startups, growth businesses, non-profits and government entities, with the overarching goal of improving the livelihood of everyday Africans across the continent.

Yvonne is also the co-founder of A&A Collective, a global non-profit community of emerging investment professionals working towards the development of the African investment ecosystem. She has an MSc in Finance from American University in Washington, DC, and a BSc in Accounting, Economics, Finance, and Spanish from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Temidayo Ajayi is a Co-Managing Partner at Detail Commercial Solicitors, where she leads the Technology & Digital Economy, Private Equity, Corporate Governance, and Capital Markets practice areas. Temidayo is an experienced legal advisor. She has successfully led and advised start-ups in their fundraising and business structuring process; and also advised local and international funds in structuring, investing, and divesting interests in Nigerian companies. Temidayo is known for her passion for excellence and her commitment to achieving her clients’ needs evidenced in her award by the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards as an Outstanding Young Professional 2022. She is a mentor on TVC Labs Mentor Pitch and a member of several legal associations including the Capital Markets Solicitors Association. She has an LLM in Corporate & Business Law from the University of Central England and an LLB from the University of Hertfordshire. Outside of her legal practice, Temidayo enjoys adventures, travelling, and watching movies.

Bernard brings a wealth of expertise in venture capital, investment banking, and telecommunications strategy across Africa. He has over 8 years of direct investment experience and has been active in the African venture capital scene since 2019.

Currently, Bernard spearheads West Africa investments at Norrsken22, an African tech growth fund providing capital and strategic value to founders. Prior to Norrsken22, he was Head of Investments at Acuity Venture Partners – an early-stage investor focused on Africa, where he led investments in twenty-four technology businesses spanning FinTech and market enablement verticals.

Bernard was a Senior Associate at I-DEV International in Kenya, supporting companies across East Africa in raising growth finance and developing go-to-market strategies. His tenure as Vodafone’s Senior Strategy Specialist underscores his ability to drive strategy formulation and execution in the telecom sector and was instrumental in establishing the firm’s 2020 Long-Range Plan and ‘WIN’ strategy.

His investment banking career involved sourcing and origination efforts for blue-chip clients across a number of sectors, raising a combination of equity and quasi-equity at IC Securities. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems, graduating Cum Laude, from Ashesi University.

Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun is an award-winning multimedia journalist, media consultant, and trainer with nearly two decades of experience. As Head of Programmes at News Central, she oversees content and programming. Known for her engaging presentation style, she has hosted political TV and radio shows, conducted insightful interviews, and moderated discussions on key social, political, and economic issues.

Tolulope has worked with NGOs and civil society groups on media campaigns for voter education, women’s rights, and government transparency. A CNN Journalism Fellow, she is passionate about social change and often serves as an event compere, ensuring smooth, professional events with a touch of humour.

Abayomi is the Regional Business Head and General Counsel at MainOne Cable Company, a leading telecom service provider in West Africa. He oversees sales, operations, and legal functions across the region (excluding Nigeria), managing key projects such as the development of Tier III data centers in Nigeria and Ghana, and the expansion of MainOne’s fiber optic network and submarine cables in West Africa.

Before joining MainOne, Abayomi co-headed the Financial Services Sector at Jackson, Etti & Edu, leading their Banking & Finance Unit. Recognized as a “Rising Star” by International Financial Legal Review from 2013 to 2019, he has also won the African Legal Rising Star award and was named one of the Top 40 Lawyers under 40 by ESQ Awards.

Abayomi holds an MBA from Lagos Business School and certifications from the London School of Economics, MIT, and the College of Law, England and Wales. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2006.

Ifeoma is an energy access expert and a climate action champion, She has over 23 years of experience, building and directing organisational operations and strategy, supporting start-ups and MSMEs across Africa. In the past 10 years, she has become a recognized and credible leader in the energy and utility markets, working on the intersection of Energy Transition, Energy markets, Energy and Climate Financing and Climate Adaptation markets.

She is experienced in political economy, energy policy and energy markets, developmental
economy, climate and environment, sustainability, dispute resolution, process facilitation and
organisational development.

Yemi Keri is a distinguished Chair and Non-Executive Director with 23 years of experience in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industries, serving both the public and private sectors. An award-winning technologist, Yemi is at the forefront of digital transformation, tackling business and social challenges with innovative solutions. She is recognized as one of Nigeria’s leading women in technology.

Yemi serves on several prominent boards, including the First City Monument Bank Ltd (FCMB), Investment One Financial Services, the Nigerian-German Chamber of Commerce, Beyond Credit Limited, GAIA Africa, and the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre. She is the Digital Platform and Financial Services Thematic Lead at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), a member of the Governing Council of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, and on the Advisory Boards of Ingressive LLC, Majeur Chesterfield, and SabiHub.

As a co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, Yemi aims to enhance women’s participation in angel investing and promote education, cross-border investing, and investor mentoring across Africa. She is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Lagos Angel Network, the Board of the Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN), and the Investment Committee of the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), managed by Acumen Capital Partners.

In addition, Yemi is a mentor to various digital and technology-enabled startups, an Expert in Residence (EIR) at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), and a facilitator on Corporate Governance and Digital Technology & Trends at Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. She was honored as Nigeria’s most outstanding Public Sector CIO at the ICT Centenary Awards in 2014.

Paras Patel is the Founder and Managing Partner of E3 Capital. He has 15+ years of investment banking and asset management experience and is a serial entrepreneur with exits in Europe and Africa. Raised in Kenya, Paras has always had a strong desire to foster sustainable development across the African continent. 

As a founding member of Energy Access Ventures (EAV), Paras has played a pivotal role in constructing the fund’s thesis around investing in smart infrastructure solutions for Sub-Saharan Africa. Paras led EAV’s investment into several innovative verticals, including commercial and industrial solar, wireless ISPs and digital LPG solutions, as well as into d.light, which became EAV’s first exit in 2020.

Paras currently sits on the boards of CAVEX, Badili, Solarise Energy, Mawingu Networks and SolarX where he leverages his entrepreneurial savvy, structure thinking and strategic mindset to drive sustainable growth.

Sunny Side Venture Partners would like to activate the world from Africa together with entrepreneurs of good ambitions, investing in Africa and Middle East, especially focusing on North Africa from Fund 1 as the first Asian VC based in Cairo, Egypt. Sadaharu Saiki(a.k.a. Sada), Founder & GP at Sunny Side Venture Partners, based in Cairo, Egypt, is passionate about finding startups with good ambitions and supporting them in scaling their businesses and their impact into the world, having invested in almost 20 companies so far. He worked at Dentsu Inc., one of the largest advertising companies in the world, for 6 years in Tokyo, Japan and 3 years in Bangalore, India, engaging in helping Japanese multinational corporations with marketing and communication. He is also an alum of McKinsey & Company. Sadaharu holds a Bachelor in Integrated Human Studies from Kyoto University and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Benjamin Dada is a household name in the African tech ecosystem. In the last decade, he has worked at fast-growing fintech startups like Moniepoint, Stitch and FairMoney doing everything from product management, to partnerships and operations which gives him a grounded understanding of the industry. Also, he is the publisher of Bendada.com, a top tech publication covering the African tech and startup ecosystem.

Kristin H. Wilson is a people technology whose work empowers entrepreneurs and business teams to harness the power of data and technology. Currently, the Managing Partner at Innovate Africa Fund and Bold Angel Network, she crafts innovative solutions that combine human operations, data analytics, and software to drive growth for SMEs and startups in sub-Saharan Africa.

With over a decade of management consulting experience in technology strategy, product development, and business planning, Kristin specialises in enabling organisations to develop infrastructure and processes to leverage technology and data for business scalability and profitability. Her expertise spans stakeholder engagement, operational enhancement, and digital transformation.

As a seasoned digital work expert, writer, speaker, and thought leader, Kristin has built a successful career helping startups and small businesses thrive in emerging markets. Her background in data analytics, operations research and project management has equipped her to drive innovation and growth for ambitious founders.

Kristin is a prolific writer and speaker who often highlights the benefits of embracing flexible and technology-driven workplace cultures whilst sharing her insights on the future of work in emerging market economies. She is inspiring and enabling business leaders to harness the potential of technology and remote work.

She maintains a robust and active angel investment portfolio, and is also the Chief Strategy Officer at Spurt! Kristin serves as LP Advisor at Oui Capital and Investment Lead for the Rising Tide Africa Angel Network. She is also a Harris Fellow.

Yele Oyekola, Co-Founder and CEO, began his career as a credit-focused Financial Analyst before moving to the United Nations, where he supported national governments in Africa with their economic policies.

In 2019, he founded Julla, a Buy-Now, Pay-Later startup aimed at helping e-commerce businesses in East Africa start, manage, and grow with ease. Julla operated until December 2020. In January 2021, Yele took the lessons learned from Julla and joined Carbon as a Product Lead, where he scaled their Buy-Now, Pay-Later product.

Now, Yele is focused on building and scaling Duplo, with the vision of making it the premier payment rail powering global trade. He holds a BA in Economics and Finance from the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

Jasiel Martin-Odoom serves as the Investment Officer, Africa, Accion Venture Lab. In his role, he leads Venture Lab’s Africa business, making investments in innovative fintech solutions with an inclusive focus. Additionally, he supports the portfolio companies, aiding them to scale their growth and enhance their impact.Prior to his tenure at Accion, Jasiel was a Senior Investment Associate at the Unreasonable Collective, a pledge fund committed to directing diverse capital and resources towards Series A climate-tech companies on a global scale.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Jasiel is a passionate communicator. He regularly shares insightful commentary on African tech, startups, and gender-lens investing via his Twitter account (@jasielinvests), and he empowers founders with his newsletter, Startup Definition Sunday (sds.beehiiv.com), where he provides actionable tips to foster founder success.

Jasiel holds an MPA in Social Impact, Innovation, and Investment from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Sanusi Ismaila founded and runs two companies and an Innovation Hub: Precognition, Aduna Capital and CoLab. At Precognition he provides businesses, organizations and governments with bespoke technology solutions to their most pressing problems. At Aduna Capital, he supports founders in underserved communities who are building the future of Africa. At CoLab, Kaduna’s first innovation hub, he’s trying to build a sustainable technology ecosystem across northern Nigeria by creating the talent, community and infrastructure that a tech ecosystem needs. Today, you’ll find Colab Alumni at companies such as Microsoft, Data Culture, Cloudflare, Toptal among many others. Startups from Colab have also gone ahead to raise over $6 million dollars in investment. In his private capacity, he also sits on a few company boards, advisory boards and Governing Councils, including the Kaduna State University. He has also spent years consulting, designing programs for, and managing relationships with both global and local brands including BlackBerry, Facebook (now Meta), Google, Microsoft, Andela, MTN Nigeria, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard Foundation DFSLab, The UK Nigeria Tech Hub, among others. Before starting out on his own, he spent 5 years in various positions making MTN Nigeria a better place.

Ayoola Salako is a multimedia storyteller and marketing professional with a track record of successful executions across editorial, brand storytelling, and user acquisition campaigns. His strong interest in creative storytelling and technology has led him to work for top brands and publishers in multiple countries. Currently, he leads marketing operations and storytelling efforts in LemFi’s mission of making International Payments accessible to everyone.

Vladimir is a Senior Partner at E3 Capital. He has 17+ years of experience in investment banking and private equity in emerging markets. Vladimir is passionate about driving disruptive innovation across the emerging world and effecting positive impact across industries and economies. After spending a few months in East Africa in 2017, he decided to follow this passion and move to Nairobi to focus on low carbon investments across the African continent. He is a Board Member of Untapped Global, Solarise Africa, SolarX Africa and ZiZ Energie. Vladimir holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Bongani is a tech entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience, having built three technology businesses from the ground up. Before joining 54 Collective, he led Black Beard, a company that built tech businesses for corporates. As a strategic thinker, Bongani bridges the gap between business needs and technology and is passionate about helping brands grow their competitive advantage in the market. As CEO of 54 Collective, he leads the early-stage investor in its mission to invest in, collaborate with, and support founders to go beyond borders and make a significant impact through commercially-oriented innovations that can sustainably improve the lives of people across the continent. 

Ayodeji is the Founder and CEO of PBR Life Sciences, a venture backed health tech startup with teams in the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Sweden. The company offers big data and AI-powered data-as-a-service subscription platforms to help the healthcare and life sciences industry innovate and commercialise products across emerging markets. Ayodeji has worked in various roles across Africa, Europe, and Asia at big companies like GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, IQVIA, and AstraZeneca with experience across Europe, United Kingdom, Asia, and Africa, focusing on big data commercialization, genomics, AI, product innovation, marketing, and sales before venturing full-time into entrepreneurship. Ayodeji has an MBA from London Business School and a Pharmacy degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of various professional groups in the UK and Nigeria.

Folakemi Fatogbe is a seasoned risk expert and now a multipreneur, serving as the Creative Director & Founder of OYAATO and CEO/Founder of The De-Risking Lab. She is also a member of the Ekiti State Economic Management Team and an Independent Non-Executive Director at the Development Bank of Nigeria, where she chairs the Board Credit & Risk Committee.

Previously, Folakemi was the Pioneer Director of Risk Management at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the first chairperson of the Risk Management Association of Nigeria. Before joining CBN, she held various roles in the UK, including at the Bank of England/FSA (supervising EMEA banks), Natwest Group (Corporate Banking Strategist), Lloyds TSB Financial Markets (Basel II Risk Consultant), NCR Teradata (Programme Director for Banking), the Royal Bank of Scotland (Risk Consultant), and Chase Cooper Consulting (Risk Consultant).

After nearly 20 years in the UK, Folakemi was recruited into CBN as Special Adviser to the Governor on Banking Reforms and Risk Management during the 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis. She played a pivotal role in developing and executing strategies that prevented a banking crisis in Nigeria, for which the CBN received several international awards.

Folakemi has also served on multiple boards, including as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN), the pioneer Chairman of the Chief Risk Officers’ Forum (CRO Forum), and as a Director of Fountain Holdings Limited, the investment arm of the Ekiti State Government.

Femi Adeyemo is the founder and CEO of Arnergy, a leading distributed utility company in Nigeria that provides energy reliability to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in emerging markets. As a visionary entrepreneur with flair for disruptive innovations, Femi is transforming Nigeria’s energy landscape with rooftop solar solutions. In his role as CEO, Femi provides overall strategic leadership and oversight for Arnergy. 

He also plays a primary role in driving technology, innovation, product development and business development in the Company. In 2019, he secured more than US$10m in equity investments from investors, including the Norwegian Government Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Femi achieved a significant milestone in June 2023 when he hosted Bill Gates at Arnergy’s Lagos offices. Bill Gates was impressed with Femi and Arnergy’s work during the visit and left Arnergized by the quality of the conversation. This meeting with Bill Gates underlines Femi’s global recognition and further validates Femi and his impactful contributions to the energy sector and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Femi is globally recognized for his work and he’s not just a successful entrepreneur but also a mentor and speaker. He has been featured on CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, CGTN, and other international and local press. Also, he is a member of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, a 300-global leaders community convened by Michael Bloomberg in Singapore annually to discuss the global economy and network.

Moyosola Okoye is a top-performing business strategy & transformation executive with extensive experience in strategic planning, analytics, intelligence, front-end innovation, and team leadership. She is highly skilled in building cross-functional teams’ capabilities, delivering strategic choices, and adhering to best practices. Moyosola has a proven ability to stay ahead of industry trends, global consumer insights, and the digital landscape, enabling her to craft cutting-edge growth strategies. Her expertise drives continuous improvement, organisational capability growth, digital business transformations, and revenue generation. Her specialities include growth hacking, entrepreneurship, innovation, user experience, forecasting, market planning, marketing, training, pricing, sales, strategy development, and trends analysis. 

Tosin Faniro-Dada is an ecosystem builder and investor dedicated to empowering pioneering tech founders across Africa. With a career focused on helping founders scale and drive societal and behavioral change, Tosin took on the inaugural role of Executive of Lagos Innovates. This incubator, powered by LSETF, supported over 200 tech startups in Lagos State, providing access to essential resources like infrastructure, financing, talent, education, and networks.

Richard Oyome is the COO and co-founder of Raenest. With a wealth of experience spanning B2C and B2B fintech ventures, Richard brings an exceptional blend of creativity, growth strategy, and performance-driven marketing expertise to Raenest. Before Raenest, Richard played pivotal roles in some of Africa’s leading fintech companies. At OPay, he was instrumental in launching and managing the Digital Marketing Operations. He developed a fully optimised user acquisition process that seamlessly integrated marketing and telesales, which became OPay’s largest acquisition channel and contributed to its growth.

Richard also made significant strides as the Head of Marketing at Fairmoney, where he honed his strategic marketing acumen. At Lemonade Finance (now Lemfi), Richard served as the Head of Growth, where he executed a highly successful Influencer Marketing campaign. By onboarding influencers with a focus on African audiences in North America and the UK, helping expand Lemfi’s user base, increasing transaction volumes, securing a place in Y Combinator, and attracting venture capital investments.

Richard’s experience and innovative approach to growth and marketing have solidified his reputation as a key figure in the fintech industry, driving forward the mission of Raenest and empowering African businesses on the global stage.

Olumide Okubadejo Head of Product Olumide is an AI Research Scientist and Product Builder with over ten years of experience in machine-learning models and building AI systems and products. He holds a PhD in AI Image Processing from Université Grenoble Alpes, a Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Southampton, and another in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from HEC Paris. Olumide has a strong background in product development, image processing, data science, computer vision, and machine learning.

He is passionate about applying his expertise to create innovative and engaging solutions while teaching and sharing his knowledge. He is a guest professor at ESIEE Paris, where he teaches data science, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence to master’s students. Additionally, he is a certified LinkedIn instructor, having completed multiple courses on design thinking, leadership, and communication artificial intelligence to master’s students. Additionally, he is a certified LinkedIn instructor, having completed multiple courses on design thinking, leadership, and communication.

Andrew Mori is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Deimos, Africa’s largest Google Cloud Partner. He has extensive experience in Software Development, DevOps, and Cloud-Native Engineering and has built engineering teams across several countries and industries.

Prior to starting Deimos, Andrew was the Chief Technology Officer of Konga, a Nigerian e-commerce company, where he focused on software delivery best practices and cloud infrastructure. During his time at Kongo, he built Africa’s most progressive web apps and was featured at the Progressive Web App Summit in 2016. This led him to found Deimos, with a mission to help African companies do the same.

Andrew has spent the majority of his professional career in software engineering and development for a range of companies and has worked on multiple web-related projects, and technologies and developed enterprise admin modules that could be integrated with multiple systems.

Andrew is passionate about nurturing the next phase of first-class African engineers, and he has pinned this objective as a guiding principle for Deimos. A Physicist by academic history, Andrew’s journey includes extensive working experience across Africa, the UK and the USA.

Jerry is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years in telecommunications and FinTech. He previously led African operations at Nomi Mobile, backed by BT/British Telecommunication, and founded Sochitel UK and Nomiworld in 2007, focusing on international remittances. Sochitel, a leading global FinTech platform, facilitates mobile top-ups, data bundles, and digital vouchers, serving over 150 million users daily. With offices across Africa and emerging markets, Sochitel was acquired by IDT Corporation in 2021, enhancing its global reach.

Jerry’s dedication to improving lives through digital services extends to various charitable initiatives across Africa. He was recently named Cranfield School of Management’s Entrepreneur of the Year for 2023. Jerry holds an Executive MBA from Cranfield and a law degree from the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Unini Campbell, Chief Commercial Officer at BudPay, boasts over a decade of fintech experience, blending strategic insight with hands-on leadership. Prior roles at Migo and Cellulant showcased her knack for identifying and capitalizing on market opportunities, driving revenue growth, and expanding market reach. 

Unini’s expertise extends to collaborating with startups in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Kenya, facilitating growth initiatives and partnerships. She also serves as a venture partner at Beta Ventures, a VC Fund in New York and Lagos, empowering entrepreneurs. 

Unini holds a BSc in Economics, an MPIA, and a Diploma in African Studies. She is a certified Project Management Professional, with certificates from HBS, INSEAD, and SGBS in Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures, Leadership at Scale, and Innovation & Growth, respectively.

Francis Nwoboshi, Chief Commercial Officer at Sochitel, brings over 20 years of experience in financial services and digital payments across Africa. He leads Sochitel’s commercial team, driving revenue growth, expanding market presence, and aligning products with market needs.

Prior to joining Sochitel, Francis held roles such as Commercial Banker at GT Bank in Nigeria, Corporate Strategy and Finance Manager at Stanbic IBTC, and Head of Mobile and Acquiring Digital Channels. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, is a Certified Payments Professional, Prince2 Certified Project Management Practitioner, Scrum Master, and has an MBA from the University of Sheffield.

Olúwatóyìn (Toyin) partners with ambitious entrepreneurs who are building businesses to change the world for good, starting with Africa.  He has over 16 years’ experience across the financing value chain from investment banking and project finance, private equity, impact investing and venture capital. His expertise includes fundraising, investment appraisal, commercial growth, strategic planning, board management and developing governance systems. Toyin has worked closely with entrepreneurs across a variety of geographies, sectors, and business models. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Vivian is a visionary leader in the tech industry, known for her innovative approach and impactful contributions. As the Chief Operating Officer of The Tonic Technologies, she’s redefined leadership by fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and purpose.

She’s also the founder of RediscoverHer, a non-profit empowering women to navigate life’s milestones with confidence. Through workshops and mentorship, Vivian has built a community where women support each other in living authentically and making intentional choices. A dedicated volunteer, dedicating her time to causes close to her heart, Vivian blends ambition with grace, seamlessly balancing her career, passions, and personal growth. She’s not just living her life—she’s leading it and inspiring others to do the same.

David I. Adeleke is a writer, journalist, and media entrepreneur. He is the founder and publisher of Communiqué, a media company focused on Africa’s creative economy. The Communiqué newsletter has over 41,000 subscribers and covers business, tech, and strategy within Africa’s creative ecosystem.

Ferdinand Adimefe is a creator, producer, educator, and CEO of Magic Carpet, a pioneering storytelling company that brings authentic African narratives to global entertainment through 2D, 3D animation, and games. A member of the International Emmy Awards and winner of the UN Innovation Challenge Sahel 2022, Ferdinand is passionate about driving policies in the creative and cultural industries. He holds a Master’s from Pan-Atlantic University, serves on the board of Slum to School Africa, and is the curator of the Imaginarium Interactive and Creative Nigeria Project.

Gbemisola Abudu is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, luxury marketing expert, and social activist with 17 years of experience developing and building businesses, brands, and human capital in Africa, the Middle East, and North America.

She is the NBA Africa Vice President & Country Head of NBA Nigeria, where she is responsible for leading the NBA’s basketball and business development efforts in Nigeria, including grassroots programming for youth, elite player development, relationships with current and prospective marketing partners, media, and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts that elevate the lives of Nigerians through basketball. In her role, she was recently recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Women in Sports in the World.

Kasim is a digital economy expert with 18 years of experience in private equity,

Intellectual property, digital identity, and regulatory compliance. He has facilitated

the development of policiy in Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, digital Identity,

digital rights, intermediary liability and online safety, and data protection. He is

currently a member of the United Nations' Study Group on Digital Public

Infrastructure (DPI). He led the drafting committee of the Nigerian Startup Act.

Kasim was the pioneer lead for investigations and enforcement of the Nigerian Data

Protection Regulations and has engaged the regulatory authorities in Ethiopia,

Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria in developing comprehensive ID systems.

Kasim is also the Director of regulatory and governmental affairs for Smile Identity

Inc. in the United Kingdom. He was the pioneer National Coordinator for the Office

for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) and a Chief Legal Officer at the National

Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Nigeria. He is also an

Adviser on Policy to Nigeria's Honorable Minister of Communications, Innovation and

Digital Transformation.

Guy Stiebel is a seasoned fintech innovator with over a decade of experience at the forefront of financial technology, developing cutting-edge consumer and enterprise solutions for some of the world’s leading financial institutions. As the VP of Product at Cedar Money, Guy is pioneering the development of next-generation B2B payment systems. He is currently leading efforts to integrate stablecoins and digital assets into Cedar’s offerings, with a bold vision to revolutionize cross-border payments for businesses in developing markets. His work is redefining how financial systems operate in emerging economies, driving innovation that empowers businesses to thrive in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.

Joey Akan is the Founder of Afrobeats Intelligence, Entertainment Editor of News Central TV, and the West African Arts & Culture Commissioning Editor for The

Conversations Africa. He is a multi-award-winning journalist, writer, A&R and Media Consultant as a multi-award-winning writer and music journalist, he spent over 5 years as the Music Editor of Pulse Nigeria, where he led a team of creatives at the Pulse Entertainment Desk.

He’s written on a variety of topics for the music industry, including investigations into the music distribution business, Africa, its sounds, and the music culture.

Joey has also covered some of the continent’s biggest events, including the MTV Africa Music Awards, Red Bull Culture Clash, Headies, African Music Awards, and many others. 

Seni is the Co-Founder & CEO of Talstack, a learning and talent management platform that helps companies manage employee engagement, productivity and performance. He is also founder at Black Ops, a private network for African operators. 

Seni’s prior career cuts across roles and industries including Chief Operating Officer at Bellhop, a venture-backed startup where he led operations across the US, VP of Global Operations at Andela, a venture-backed unicorn where he led operations across Africa, Bristow Group, where he built and operated a new business jet airline in Nigeria, Strategy Manager at HP in silicon valley, and Management Consultant at Bain & Company.

Seni holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Andy Obuoforibo is Head Of Product at 54Collective, where he leads the Design, Engineering, and Product teams to help portfolio companies along the journey to Product-Market Fit. Andy has been building product for over 20 years, first as a software engineer, and then as a product manager. His experience cuts across multiple sectors like agritech, fintech, public health, and media, and he has built extensively for B2C, B2B, and B2G. Andy is obsessed with 2 things: finding new ways to leverage service design and cutting edge tech to deliver product in more scalable ways in emerging markets, and identifying the emerging market nuances to global best practice for building products and startups.

Ajetomobi Oluwaferanmi brings nearly a decade of experience in coordinating market entry campaigns for fintech and FMCG industries. He began his career as a sales associate for Dangote Sugar and later transitioned to storytelling for a marketing agency. His big break came in 2017 when he joined Cowrywise as a brand storyteller, where he played multiple roles in growth functions and significantly contributed to the platform’s early organic growth of 500,000 users.

Following his time at Cowrywise, Feranmi led growth efforts at companies such as Okra and Flutterwave. He also has experience in the FMCG sector, where he coordinated the digital demand setup for Integrated Dairies, makers of FarmFresh and Refresh yogurts, and spearheaded the go-to-market strategy for Refresh yogurt.

Currently, he serves as the Country Manager for Cenoa, a cross-border payment solutions provider that powers over 400,000 high-interest USD accounts for Nigerians as of September 2024. Cenoa, backed by the Mastercard Foundation, operates in the EU, UK, Turkey, and Nigeria.

Yinka Adewuyi is a product leader and entrepreneur, currently the CEO and co-founder of the online supermarket GoLemon. Previously, he spent seven years at Paystack, where he led product and partnerships within core processing.

Hugo Obi is the CEO and Founder of Maliyo Games, a leading African mobile game studio. A visionary entrepreneur, Hugo is dedicated to building the African gaming industry through innovative games and talent development initiatives.

Since founding Maliyo Games in 2012, Hugo has pioneered game development training programs in Africa, including GameUp Africa, a continent-wide boot camp for aspiring developers, and the Game Art Training Program, which upskills artists for careers in the industry.

Maliyo Games made history in 2024 as the first African developer to collaborate with Disney Games on the Iwájú Rising Chef mobile game. The studio’s portfolio also includes popular titles like Aboki Run and Whot King. A sought-after speaker and expert on the African games industry, Hugo has presented at major events like Nordic Game, Africa Games Week, BIG Festival, GamesCom, and GDC. He also co-authored the groundbreaking 2024 Africa Games Industry Report.

Recognized for his contributions, Hugo has been twice awarded the prestigious Games Industry Africa “Person of the Year” accolade.

Louisa Kiwana-Olafuyi is an award-winning specialist in children’s publishing and media.

As the creator of the popular children’s 3D animation, Kunda & Friends, and author of over 50 children’s books, she is focused on enriching the lives of young audiences through the art of storytelling.

In December 2020, she co-founded Kunda Kids specifically to challenge the underrepresentation of African culture and heritage in children’s media and promote global citizenship among the next generation.

At Kunda Kids, their mission is to inspire, educate, and innovate. They strive to empower children to dream big and celebrate their unique identities. Louisa is dedicated to profoundly impacting children’s media, ensuring that young minds have access to diverse and inclusive narratives that will foster a brighter, more inclusive future.

Francis Vesta is a seasoned investment professional currently serving as an Investment Associate at Madica, where he plays a key role in identifying and supporting mission-driven founders. With a strong background in venture capital and private equity, Francis brings valuable expertise to the table. His skills include leading investment due diligence, robust analytical capabilities, and proficiency in data analysis and business development. Before his role at Madica, Francis co-founded a blockchain-based gaming startup, where he served as the Chief Financial Officer. In this capacity, he contributed to building the technological infrastructure that empowered African gamers to monetize their gaming skills.

Francis’s prior experiences also involve working as an Investment Associate for a Venture Capital fund launched in 2018, dedicated to funding tech-enabled startups in Sub-Saharan Africa. His contributions extend to providing investment advisory and fundraising support to startup founders within the local ecosystem.

Francis holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is a certified Financial Modelling and Valuation Analyst underscoring his strong foundation in financial expertise. His commitment to fostering innovation and supporting mission-driven ventures positions him as a valuable asset in the dynamic landscape of venture capital and investment.

Azeezat Olaoluwa is a multimedia Journalist who has more than a decade of work experience with Nigerian and international media organisations. She has worked as a News Anchor, Presenter, Producer and Reporter in the 14 years of her media career.

She has produced impactful stories and also conducted insightful interviews with distinguished personalities in pivotal sectors, locally and internationally. Azeezat Olaoluwa also works as a communication consultant, media trainer, and a compere.

Abibat Kazeem is a seasoned Enterprise Solutions Expert with over 15 years of

experience driving innovative solutions for businesses across Africa.

She is the Head Of Commercial at Bayobab Nigeria, MTN’s Fiber Infrastructure

Company; where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the company's commercial strategy.

She is responsible for driving strategic commercial decisions, negotiating complex

deals, and ensuring customer satisfaction. By leveraging her expertise in technology

and customer relationship management, Abibat builds strong partnerships and drives

revenue growth.

Through strategic partnerships with leading carriers and telecom service providers, she

has helped bridge the digital divide and empower businesses both locally and across

the Africa’s digital footprint. Her passion for technology and her commitment to

delivering exceptional customer service have earned her a reputation as a trusted

advisor. Abibat is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their goals through the

effective use of technology and is excited to contribute to the ongoing growth and

success of Bayobab Nigeria.

Abibat holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Olabisi Onabanjo

University , she is also a certified member with the City & Guild of London  Institution,

Technical Sales Certification.

Dr. Austin Okpagu is a seasoned leader in Nigeria’s FinTech and payment services sector, with over a decade of experience driving strategic growth and operational excellence. Currently the Country Manager for VertoFX, he previously held leadership roles at JumiaPay, OPay, and Paga, where he spearheaded business development, forged strategic partnerships, and navigated regulatory frameworks. His academic background in Organizational Psychology complements his extensive professional expertise, making him a respected figure in the industry.

Ade Jinadu is the Product Marketing Lead at Zedcrest Wealth, a brand solely vested in simplifying wealth creation for everyone through innovative solutions and financial expertise. Ade previously co-founded Gamr, Africa’s leading e-sports platform. His entrepreneurial spirit and deep understanding of digital trends have shaped his career.

With six years of expertise in data and marketing, Ade is a skilled strategist who transforms market insights into impactful business outcomes. He is a graduate of the prestigious University of Leeds with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Management His love for sports fuels his competitive drive and his philosophy of challenging the status quo inspires him to push boundaries and create exceptional results.

Slawomir Cieslinski is a seasoned telecommunications expert with over 20 years of experience in the ICT sector, specializing in business development and strategic partnerships across multiple geographies. As the Director of Business Development at WIOCC Group, Slawomir plays a key role in expanding the company’s reach and strengthening its position as a leading wholesale connectivity provider across Africa and beyond. 

At WIOCC, he focuses on cultivating strong relationships with international carriers, ISPs, 

content providers, and cloud operators, driving the growth of WIOCC’s carrier-neutral 

infrastructure and its world-class subsea and terrestrial networks. His leadership has been 

instrumental in executing strategic partnerships that align with the company’s long-term vision of enabling digital transformation in Africa. 

Before joining WIOCC, Slawomir held leadership roles at leading telecommunications firms, 

where he successfully managed multimillion-dollar projects and built strategic alliances that drove business growth. His global perspective and deep industry knowledge allow him to navigate the complexities of the telecommunications landscape, making him a trusted advisor to clients and partners.